New dawn at Streamcent as Adrian Ogun takes charge

Streamcent, a digital platform that streams sports and entertainment videos and live shows, recently announced the appointment of Dr. Adrian Ogun as its chairman. In this report CHIZOBA OGBECHE examines Ogun’s pedigree and the implication of his appointment.

Sports and entertainment streaming digital platform, Streamcent, has a characteristic of an African perspective, but with world-wide appeal hence the appointment of the new chairman of the company, Dr. Adrian Ogun.

He assumes the chairmanship of Streamcent with a wealth of experience in the entertainment industry, having traversed sports and show business sub-industries. Industry watchers have said he’s the right-fit for the job.

According to a statement announcing the appointment, Ogun was coming to the chairmanship position with a wealth of experience in the entertainment industry, having traversed sports and show business sub-industries.

Speaking shortly after he was unveiled as the chairman, Ogun said; “I know that Nigerian world champion fighters like Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya and Anthony Joshua are eager to host at least one of their fights back home in Nigeria.

“What’s more, I know how to emulate international standards and how to adapt the Western pay per view fight model to be both profitable to foreign networks and affordable to the average Nigerian thereby, making the hosting a world title fight in Nigeria a feasible ‘win-win’ situation for TV networks, combat organisations, the pugilists and more importantly adoring Nigerian fight fans.”

He noted that, “When Floyd Mayweather Jnr. wanted to host his 50th and last fight on the African continent; I was contacted by US TV networks to promote the fight on the African continent because of my past experience in hosting a successful world title boxing show in South Africa. I am now bringing that international exposure to Streamcent.”

The man

Dr. Adrian Ogun has a degree in Economics from the London School of Economics, London University; a Diploma, Masters and Doctorate degree in Finance and Corporate Governance from the Wharton School. Penn. University USA, and Leeds Beckett University (UK).

He started his career as a Chartered Certified Accountant with Shell Oil and PriceWaterhouseCoopers before diversifying into sports management and real estate development.

Dr. Ogun is also the Vice Chairman and Co-founder of a 500 hectare housing estate in Abuja, called River Park.

His pedigree

Blueprint Weekend checks revealed that Ogun’s appointment stems from the fact that the company believes the huge appetite for combat shows, such as ‘African Knock Outs’ (AKO) and Ogun’s experience as a promoter of past world heavyweight boxing champions Lennox Lewis and Corrie Sanders (in South Africa, UK and USA) will persuade international networks, such as ESPN, UFC, Showtime, BTSport and DAZN, to host a world championship title defence, featuring Nigerian world champions in Nigeria.

Originally, Mayweather Jnr’s 50th fight was a rematch with Manny Pacquiao in South Africa but his desire to fight on the African continent was thwarted by boxing politics and he fought his last bout instead against the UFC boxing champion Conor McGregor, in a fight sanctioned by the CEO of UFC, Dana White, in the US.

Dr. Ogun was the last promoter to successfully host a world heavy weight championship fight in Africa, since ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in 1974, featuring Muhammad Ali and George Forman.

In 2001 Ogun promoted a fight entitled ‘Thunder in Africa’ between former world heavyweight champions Lennox Lewis and Hasim Rahman in Johannesburg and was personally encouraged to do so by former amateur boxer and South African President, Nelson Mandela and local boxing partner Rodney Berman.

Speaking further on his plans for the company Ogun said, “I have reached out to the UFC, at their headquarters in Las Vegas and expressed Streamcent’s serious interest in staging a UFC world title fight on the African Continent.

“I hope to hear from them after Karamu Usman’s UFC world title defence against Jorge Masvidal on April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida.

“Our proposal for hosting a world title fight in Africa includes the streaming of live shows in conjunction with UFC Fightpass and DSTV, at prices which are affordable to the masses of UFC fans across Africa.

“Currently, to view an Usman or Adesanya fight in Nigerian the cost of subscription is outside the budget of the average Nigerian. In Nigeria, approximately 1 per cent of the population subscribes to cable/satellite sports channels that broadcast UFC world title fights in Nigeria, out of a population of over 200 million. “Whereas, the Streamcent app can connect with smart phones that account for up to 50 per cent of the 170 million mobile phone users in Nigeria, at less than one tenth the cost of cable/satellite subscriptions.”

He added, “Our research reveals that mobile phone use in Africa shall double over the next five years to over 500 million phones and the majority of the increase in phone usage will be smart phones with streaming capabilities.

“So much money is being ‘left on the table’ by international sports promoters who continue to broadcast quality sporting content in an ‘analog fashion’ (using cable/satellite) instead of gravitating to a digital world where youths (who make up the majority of the African continent’s population) prefer to use mobile phones and other devices to stream sporting content.

“The outdated Western model for streaming sporting content requires adaptation for Africa. We, at Streamcent, have perfected how to engage interactively with fans, using local content to maximize revenues, in a way that international streaming companies have failed to do ‘one size does not fit all’ successful streaming of sports content in Africa requires a locally crafted and nuanced approach to fan engagement.”

Technology and user behaviour gaps

Ogun’s position a technology, information, communications and entertainment (TICE), Femi Osinubi, who is an industry leader at PwC Nigeria, in a recent report said: “A raft of changes in technology, user behaviour and business models have opened up a gap between how consumers want to experience and pay for entertainment and media offerings, and how companies produce and distribute them.

“The right user experience bridges this gap. To deliver it, companies must pursue two related strategies. First, build businesses and brands anchored by active, high-value communities of fans, united by shared passions, values, and interests.

“And second, capitalize on emerging technologies to delight users in new ways and provide superior user experiences.”

Our correspondent reports that as companies compete to create the most desired user experiences, advances in technology are at the heart of their strategies. Combined with a great user experience, companies can harness technology and data to create a virtuous circle, one in which increasing consumer engagement and attention lead to the capture of more data and more insights into what users want.

This understanding enables companies to further target and engages their core audiences, opening up new opportunities to generate revenue.

Nigeria with a 12.1 per cent compound annual growth rate (albeit strongly influenced by surging spending on mobile internet access) will be the world’s fastest growing entertainment and media market over the coming five years.

Speaking further, Dr. Ogun recalled that, “Only last year, the founding member, Director and Progenitor of Streamcent, Mr. Damola Akindilore, discussed with me the idea of a sports and entertainment streaming service with an African focus but world-wide appeal and the type of sports and entertainment shows to target.

“I am eternally grateful to Damola and the rest of the board for placing their confidence in me as Chairman of Streamcent.

“I must also commend our General Manager, Sandra Oboh who, following her appointment, has brought tremendous experience and youthful drive to Streamcent, based on her stellar roles in the U.S over the past decade with Bleacher Report, tru TV (both Turner media companies) and Wave TV.”

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